Matt Edible is a cult hero from the East Yorkshire port city of Hull, a place which sparked the English Civil War, was the birthplace of slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce, aviatrix Amy Johnson and rock legend Mick Ronson. It also has unique cream-coloured phone boxes and hosts Europe’s oldest and largest travelling fair.
Matt Edible & The Obtuse Angels, John Andrew (Kingmaker) on drums, and Sarah Shiels on bass, release their latest album `The Optometrist` this month, recorded during lockdown which is a new collection of material from lo-fi punk to balladry, Americana, Britpop, classic rock, folk and more.
The album`s title track `The Optometrist` leads us in and it’s an upbeat uplifting throwaway power pop tinged offering with some quite witty lyrics such as “Things are getting better all the time; You have to crush some grapes to make the wine” I had initially assumed that the title was the optimist, a person who tends to be hopeful and cheerful and expects good outcomes whereas it was the optometrist, an eye care professional who examines eyes to detect and treat vision problems. We have a dispirited love story, written as a duet between two incompatible characters with `Cancelled (A Love For All Seasons)` which has occasional clarinet hues as it evolves. It reminded me of one of those dreamy slow dances at the end of a night at in a club when you don`t want to go home alone.
`Mirror Shoes` whose lyrics were inspired by a pair of silver platform boots Matt`s partner got him for Christmas has fuzzy guitar riffs and is almost a spoken word stream of consciousness over a recurring beat. A mistrust of so called experts runs through `Idiot` which had a kind of seventies Glitter band vibe.
The title `Cat Piss` may conjure up all sorts of acidic musings but this nearly eight minute number begins quite reflectively and melancholic before it rocks out for a couple of minutes prior to returning to a more contemplative tone before once again exploding with noise. We veer domestically to `Dog Dirt` whose pounding thumping rhythmic tones are fairly enticing and refer to outrage at gaslighting from people in power.
‘Triage’ I read is a tender, Lynchian dream of a song. It begins by telling a confused story of loneliness and despair. A slightly surreal submission that seems to float along with substantial saxophones in the closing moments. A love song told through the metaphor of Britpop follows with ‘Better than Oasis,’ an amusing tale that weaves some of the Mancunian brother’s song titles over the revolving swaggering sound of tinkling pianos keys and a bashed drum. A song where you just have to roll with it.
The final track `The Big Reveal` runs at eight minutes forty four seconds but doesn`t feel overly long. A deep kind of philosophical slow burn that muses on data algorithms and has an agonising nigh on heart-rending texture.
`The Optometrist` is an interesting and entertaining listen which muses on a variety of lyrical themes such as corrupt leaders, phoney celebrities but it also touches on the human psyche shared over some catchy and more challenging musical tones. I read somewhere that Matt Edible was “the best thing out of Hull since the Humber Bridge!” and while acts such as Throbbing Gristle, The Housemartins, Everything But The Girl and Bdrmm might disagree, he`s definitely up there.
Rating 8/10
